According to Emmerdale's Matthew Wolfenden, characters are dropping like flies because the soap doesn't have enough cash to pay the actors.

The 35-year-old star plays David Metcalfe, son of Eric Pollard, on the popular soap. Fans have been subjected to some emotional episodes recently, with a helicopter crash wiping out some of Emmerdale's most-loved residents.

The macabre feel had one Twitter user perplexed, who asked Matthew: "I don't watch but can you tell me why everyone is dying?"

To which the star drily replied "Pay cuts."

No one can be sure whether he was joking or not, but his deadpan response might not go down well with ITV bosses.

The first helicopter crash victim on Wednesday was character Ruby Haswell, played by Alicya Eyo. The friendly barista was part of the accident which put a serious downer on Pete Barton and Debbie Dingle's wedding.

Alicia admitted it felt strange to leave the show after four years.

"It's a mixture of feelings! I finished a couple of weeks ago now and I feel as though I'm only just settling with it. It's been such a big part of my life for almost four years and it's all-consuming, so when it's taken away, you feel a bit lost!" she explained to digitalspy.co.uk.

Last night there were more shockers when Val Pollard and Ross Barton were killed off. Ross met his end after a fight with his brother, Pete, while Val was stabbed by a falling mirror in the process of protecting her sister Diane from the object.